(Grand and General Council)
selects two of its members to serve as the Captains Regent (cochiefs
of state) for a six-month period; they preside over meetings of the
Grand and General Council and its cabinet (Congress of State) which
has ten other members, all selected by the Grand and General
Council; assisting the captains regent are three secretaries of
state - Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, and Finance - and several
additional secretaries; the secretary of state for Foreign Affairs
has assumed many of the prerogatives of a prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral Grand and General Council or
Consiglio Grande e Generale (60 seats; members are elected by direct
popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections: last held 31 May 1998 (next likely to be held by NA June
2001)

election results: percent of vote by party - PDCS 40.8%, PSS 23.3%,
PPDS 18.6%, APDS 9.8%, RC 3.3%, SR 4.2%; seats by party - PDCS 25,
PSS 14, PPDS 11, APDS 6, RC 2, SR 2

Judicial branch: Council of Twelve or Consiglio dei XII

Political parties and leaders: Communist Refoundation or RC [Ivan
FOSHI]; Ideas in Movement or IM [Alessandro ROSSI]; San Marino
Christian Democratic Party or PDCS [Pier Marino MENICUCCI]; San
Marino Popular Alliance of Democrats or APDS [Mario VENTURINI]; San
Marino Progressive Democratic Party or PPDS [Claudio FELICI]; San
Marino Socialist Party or PSS [Augusto CASALI]; Socialists for
Reform or SR [Renzo GIARDI]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: CE, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, OPCW, OSCE,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US: San Marino does not have an
embassy in the US

honorary consulate(s) general: Washington, DC, and New York

honorary consulate(s): Detroit

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an
embassy in San Marino; the US Consul General in Florence (Italy) is
accredited to San Marino

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and
light blue with the national coat of arms superimposed in the
center; the coat of arms has a shield (featuring three towers on
three peaks) flanked by a wreath, below a crown and above a scroll
bearing the word LIBERTAS (Liberty)

San Marino Economy

Economy - overview: The tourist sector contributes over 50% of GDP.
In 1999 more than 3 million tourists visited San